Sunday, May 24, 2009: Jesus' Call to Remember

Jesus’ Call to Remember
Luke 24: 44 – 53 and Acts 1: 1 – 11.

I. Introduction.

Remembering is what this Memorial Day is all about. I’m sure it is not news to you that tomorrow is Memorial Day—the first three day weekend of the summer. But, did you know that Memorial Day was originally established as a day to bring healing to Americans who had been divided by the Civil War?

Decorating the graves of soldiers who had lost their lives in the Civil War was supposed to bring us all together. It didn’t matter whether the soldier had fought for the Union or the Confederacy, this was a day to honor all those who had died in the War. Mourning the dead and decorating their graves could heal the nation’s wounds.

After World War 1, Decoration Day became Memorial Day. It is no longer a time to single out those who died in the Civil War. Now, it is a time to remember all those who died while serving in any branch of the United States military. Yet, somewhere along the way, we forgot what we were supposed to remember!

Most people will enjoy the long weekend without pausing to remember the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who died. Most people will celebrate the beginning of summer. Most people will associate Memorial Day with the day to wear their white shoes or with the day when the public pools open for summer. Somewhere along the way, we forgot what we were supposed to remember.

However, today is not Memorial Day. Today is the day before Memorial Day. Since Memorial Day is always a Monday, this also means today is Sunday. Sunday is the Lord’s Day. The day Christian men and women gather to worship. We worship on Sunday morning—and not on Friday evening, like the Jews—because Sunday morning is when our Lord rose from the grave.

It’s on days like today when we face a great temptation. We are tempted to forget what we are supposed to remember. Just as many people have forgotten the original purpose of Memorial Day; it is possible for us to forget the original purpose of the Lord’s Day.

Today is a special Lord’s Day. Not only is today the day of the week we have set aside to worship the resurrected Jesus; it is also the day Christians all over the world remember the day Jesus ascended into heaven.

Easter Sunday was on April 12 this year, and Thursday was exactly 40 days after Easter Sunday. That makes Thursday Ascension Day and today Ascension Sunday.

During the week, I read the last several chapters of all four Gospels. I started reading at the resurrection and read through the end of the books. I find it interesting that Luke is the only Gospel who tells us about the ascension of Jesus. This is even more interesting (perhaps only to me) when we notice that the ascension of Jesus appears in one other place in the New Testament: Acts 1. It’s interesting, because Luke was the author of both accounts of the ascension. Let’s read both of these accounts and discover what the ascension has to say to us.

Read Luke 24: 44 – 53.

Luke 24 is the only chapter Luke devotes to several important theological events: the resurrection of Jesus; the appearances of Jesus after the resurrection; Jesus’ commissioning his disciples; and Jesus’ ascension into heaven. There is a lot going on in this one chapter!

Luke tells us that when the disciples first saw Jesus after the resurrection, they were afraid. These men had been witnesses to Jesus’ crucifixion. They may not have been at the foot of the cross when Jesus breathed his last breath, but they didn’t need to be present to know that Jesus had died. The disciples knew that the Romans were professional executioners. No one could escape the certainty of death on a Roman cross. The soldiers knew what they were doing. They had perfected their skills as executioners. No one could come down from the cross alive.

Therefore, when Jesus appeared to them three days after the crucifixion, the disciples had to believe one of two options. First, Jesus must have been resurrected from the dead. However, this has never happened before and it goes against everything we have ever experienced about the finality of death. Second, they must be seeing a ghost. While seeing a ghost does not seem very logical, it made more sense to the disciples than resurrection. They thought they were seeing a ghost!

So, Luke tells us that Jesus had to prove to his disciples that he was not a ghost. Jesus did this by doing two things. First, he invited them to touch his body. Ghosts do not have physical bodies. Therefore, if Jesus has a physical body, he must not be a ghost. Second, Jesus ate a meal with his disciples. Eating is an activity only performed by people who are truly alive. Dead people cannot eat, and ghosts have no need to eat. Therefore, Jesus really is alive! God has done something that has never been done before!

Now that Jesus has proven to his disciples that he really is alive, it is safe to say he has their full attention. With every eye fixed on Jesus, and every ear tuned in to hear what Jesus will say next, Jesus called his disciples to “remember.”

II. Remember Jesus’ Teachings.

Once Jesus had the disciples’ attention, he reminded them of what he had taught them during their ministry years together. Luke 24: 44, "This is what I told you while I was still with you..."

By saying these words to the disciples, Jesus is saying something significant. The man standing in front of them today is the same man they knew three days ago (or even three years ago when he first called them to be disciples). Jesus has died and been raised from the dead. God has done something brand new. Yet, some things remain the same. Jesus’ call to discipleship remains the same. Everything Jesus has taught them about the Kingdom of God remains the same. Everything Jesus sent the disciples out to do remains the same.

The disciples are supposed to remember everything Jesus has told them. However, we can make an argument here that simply remembering is not enough. What if the disciples had a cognitive remembrance of Jesus’ call to follow him, but then did nothing to follow? What if they could recall all of Jesus’ words about the Kingdom of God, but then did not live out the principles of the Kingdom? What if the disciples remembered when Jesus sent them out to preach the Good News, cast out demons and heal the sick, but did nothing to continue that ministry?

When Jesus told his disciples to “remember,” he meant more than simply having the ability to recall what he said. Remember Jesus’ words by living them out daily. Recall his words, but practice his words.

III. Remember God’s Plan from the Beginning.

Then, Luke tells us Jesus “opened the disciples’ minds” to understand the Old Testament teachings about God’s plan. Luke 24: 46, "This is what was written..."

Again, I think Jesus is stressing the importance of continuity. Jesus is the same today as he was before the crucifixion. And, God is the same today as he was as far back as the teachings in the Old Testament. In fact, the crucifixion and resurrection has ALWAYS been God’s plan. This was not God’s Plan B when the nation of Israel failed to live up to expectations.

Jesus told his disciples that God has recorded his plan in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. These three designations include the entire Old Testament. This was the only Scripture in Jesus’ and the disciples’ day. And the only way to understand what the Old Testament says is to have your mind opened by Jesus. In other words, we will never understand what the Bible has to say about God unless we accept the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

In verses 46 – 49, Jesus told his disciples that God’s plan has never changed. The Old Testament prophesies that the Christ (Messiah) will suffer and rise from the dead (v. 46). This has been God’s plan all along. The Old Testament also teaches that repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached to all nations beginning in Jerusalem (v. 47). Again, this has been God’s plan all along.

In Jesus’ last words to his disciples before he ascended into heaven, Jesus explained how his work on earth is a part of God’s big picture. God never changed his mind. God simply waited until the time was right to bring his plan to fruition.

Jesus did not give his disciples a new calling. No. Jesus reminded them of God’s original plan. However, no one could rightly understand God’s plan until after the resurrection. Jesus gave his disciples a right understanding of Scripture and God’s plan by “opening their minds.”

Jesus used his last moments on earth to call his disciples to remember two things. First, remember everything Jesus taught. Second, remember God’s plan from the beginning.
Now, let’s compare this to what Luke says in Acts 1…

Read Acts 1: 1 – 11.

One significant difference between Luke 24 and Acts 1, is the sensation of time. Luke 24 SEEMS to tell us that everything happened in one day. Jesus rose from the grave, appeared to the women, walked to Emmaus with two disciples, appeared to the original eleven disciples, and ascended into heaven. Acts 1 tells us specifically that these events (and others not recorded in the Gospel of Luke) occurred over the course of 40 days. Then, Jesus ascended into heaven.

I believe Luke used the story of Jesus’ ascension as a “bridge” to connect his two books. On one hand, this story connects the two books. On the other hand, this story serves two completely different purposes in the two different books. The ascension is the END of the Gospel. But, the ascension is the BEGINNING of Acts.

As the END of the Gospel, the ascension serves as a conclusion to everything that has gone before it. Just like any good conclusion, Luke used this story to wrap up the loose ends. It directs our attention to the past: the Old Testament teachings about Jesus, the things Jesus taught his disciples, the ministry work Jesus shared with his disciples, and (perhaps most importantly) proves once and for all that Jesus really is who he claimed to be. Jesus is the unique Son of God, crucified for our sins (as a part of God’s original plan), resurrected as the first among all who believe in Jesus, and ascended into heaven to be glorified at the right hand of his Father.

As the BEGINNING of the Book of Acts, the ascension serves as an introduction to everything that will come after it. Just like any good introduction, Luke used this story to direct our attention toward the future.

It would be funny if it were not so sad. In Acts 1, the disciples are trying to reminisce, but Jesus will not let them. They are trying to look at the past and remember the “good ole days” of ministry with Jesus and the “good ole days” when the nation of Israel held a high status in the world’s geo-political structure. Yet, Jesus’ words to his disciples snap them out of the past and force them to look at the future.

IV. Remember the Spirit’s Mission (through the church).

It would have been natural (perhaps even easy) for the disciples to walk away after witnessing the ascension. They could have returned to their old ways of life: fishing in the Lake of Galilee and collecting taxes for the Roman government. But, that is not what Jesus wanted them to do. Jesus said to them in verse 4, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised…”

Do you know what Jesus meant when he said, “Do not leave Jerusalem?” He meant, “Do not go home.” The disciples had jobs, family, friends and houses waiting for them in the northern part of Israel. But, Jesus had something else for them in Jerusalem. He wanted them to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The disciples were true to form here. Jesus gave them clear instructions, spoken in a way they could all understand. Yet, they did not understand. As soon as the words left Jesus’ mouth, the disciples demonstrated that they did not comprehend.

Look at the disciples’ question in verse 6, “Lord, are you at this time going to RESTORE the kingdom to Israel?”

The word “restore” is an important word here. Restore means to put things back the way they used to be. Jesus didn’t die on the cross and rise again just to put things back the way they used to be. No. Jesus died and rose again to make all things new. Jesus didn’t restore Israel. Jesus re-created the entire world as a place where the Kingdom of God can be established!

Again, the disciples were trying to look backward at the past. Jesus called them to look forward to the future. Notice these future-sounding words in Acts 1: Jesus BEGAN to do and teach (1:1); wait for the gift my Father promised (1:4); you will receive power (1:8); you will be my witnesses (1:8); and Jesus will come back (1:11).

God’s plan in the Old Testament has not changed. God was working throughout all human history to lead up to the crucifixion and resurrection. But that was just the beginning. Now, God’s plan depends on us.

Jesus called us to be his disciples, taught us about the Kingdom of God, healed the sick and cast out demons. But that was only the beginning. Now, God’s plan depends on us.

V. Conclusion.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. This year, don’t forget what you are supposed to remember. Today is the Lord’s Day. Don’t forget what you are supposed to remember. Remember the things that will never change: God’s plan from the beginning; Jesus teaching to his disciples; and the Spirit’s mission that is accomplished through his church.